The present invention relates to the art of confectionery manufacturing, and, in particular, to novel methods of making a functionalized confectionery mass which does not require cooking to dehydrate, and product(s) therefrom.
It is generally considered a necessity in the art of preparing confectionery masses, such as nougats, to use water as a mixing medium and source of hydration for ingredients. Specifically with respect to nougats, a typical recipe calls for soaking egg albumen in water over a period of time, such as overnight, in order to fully hydrate the protein. Following hydration, the egg albumen is stirred and strained before being beaten into a stiff foam. Other ingredients such as sugar, honey, and corn syrup are separately cooked together with water to a temperature of from about 135.degree. to about 138.degree. C. The cooked mixture is then poured into the egg and beaten with a nougat mixer, which is similar to a marshmallow mixer but generally more robust. Additional parts of sugar and other ingredients must then be added and the mixture beaten or stirred over a hot water bath. Excessive water is required in the preparation of the nougat to serve as a mixing medium and source of hydration. Consequently, moisture must be driven off as much as possible to provide structural integrity and consistency of the end product.
Prior art processes require excessive amounts of water to provide a mixing medium and to hydrate the components. With respect to hydration, water is supplied in more than sufficient quantity to ensure that specific ingredients are wetted and functionalized. With respect to use of water as a mixing medium, once again excessive amount of moisture is generally used so that ingredients can be contacted by suspension or dissolution in the medium. The overall process requires the use of far more moisture than is actually required to provide solubility of the ingredients which results in a coherent mass having structural integrity.
As a consequence of the use of excessive water to hydrate and as a mixing medium, the artisan is then required to reduce the unwanted additional moisture as best as possible. This is generally undertaken by a combination of mixing and boiling to drive the moisture off. This process is energy-inefficient and very costly. Moreover, it is ineffective to eliminate a significant amount of the moisture contained in the confectionery mass.
One of the unwanted results of inefficient dehydration is that water remains as a separate phase in the end product. This water is not bound to other ingredients and can be referred to as "free moisture" or "unbound water." Free moisture can detract from the end product because it weakens the structural integrity and/or reduces the quality of organoleptic perception. Free moisture has been identified in food art by "water activity."
Moreover, free moisture provides an environment in which micro-organisms can grow. Microbiological growth in food products has also been used to measure the existence of free moisture.
"Water activity" is measured as the ratio between the vapor pressure of water in an enclosed chamber containing a food and the saturation vapor pressure of water at the same temperature. Water activity is an indication of the degree to which unbound water is found and, consequently, is availability to act as a solvent or participate in destructive chemical and microbiological reactions.
Many food preservation processes attempt to eliminate spoilage by lowering the availability of water to microorganisms. Reducing the amount of free moisture or unbound water also minimizes other undesirable chemical changes which can occur in foods during storage. The processes used to reduce the amount of unbound water in foods include techniques like concentration, dehydration, and freeze drying. These processes require intensive energy and are not cost efficient.
As a result of the present invention, the above difficulties and other difficulties generally associated with the prior art have been overcome.